A consumer commission in Uttarakhand has ordered a restaurant and an online food delivery platform to jointly pay Rs 10,520 to a customer after he allegedly received a seven-inch pizza instead of the 10-inch pizza he had ordered. The commission observed that delivering a product significantly smaller than the one advertised amounted to a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice. The order has drawn attention to the responsibilities of restaurants and online food delivery platforms when customers receive products that do not match their orders.
According to the complaint, the consumer had placed an order for a 10-inch pizza through an online food delivery application. The pizza was priced at Rs 505, with an additional Rs 15 charged as delivery fees. However, when the order arrived, the customer allegedly found that the pizza measured only seven inches. The difference meant that he had received a substantially smaller product than the one displayed and paid for. He subsequently contacted the platform's customer support and raised the issue, seeking a refund for the incorrect order.
The customer claimed that his complaint did not receive a satisfactory resolution. After his refund request was reportedly rejected, he pursued the matter through other available grievance mechanisms. He approached the National Consumer Helpline and the CPGRAMS portal and also issued a formal legal notice to the parties involved. When these efforts failed to secure a refund or settlement, he approached the consumer commission and sought compensation for the inconvenience and alleged deficiency in service.
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During the proceedings, the food delivery platform reportedly argued that it functioned only as an intermediary between the restaurant and the customer. It maintained that it was not the manufacturer, preparer, packager or seller of the food product and therefore should not be held responsible for the size of the pizza supplied by the restaurant. The commission, however, did not accept this argument and held that the parties involved in fulfilling the order could be held responsible when the product supplied failed to correspond with what the consumer had ordered.
The commission, headed by President Gagan Kumar Gupta along with members Dr Amresh Rawat and Ranjana Goyal, directed the opposite parties to jointly and severally pay Rs 10,520 to the complainant within 45 days of the order. The compensation includes Rs 505 towards the price of the pizza and Rs 15 towards delivery charges. An additional Rs 5,000 was awarded as compensation for mental and physical harassment, while another Rs 5,000 was imposed towards litigation expenses incurred by the consumer in pursuing the complaint.
The case highlights the growing importance of consumer protection in the online food delivery sector, where customers often depend on descriptions, photographs and product specifications displayed on digital platforms before placing orders. When the delivered product differs materially from what was advertised or ordered, consumers can raise complaints and seek appropriate remedies. The Uttarakhand commission's decision also reinforces the expectation that restaurants and delivery platforms should ensure greater accuracy and accountability throughout the ordering and delivery process.
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